Wedding insurance – can you afford to be without it?

It’s a fact of life – weddings these days are expensive …….. really expensive! The average cost is between £ 15 – 40,000 and it makes sense to cover as many of the risks as possible, so most couples sensibly opt for some form of wedding insurance. Typically, these policies cover most of the following criteria:

Having to cancel your wedding

Rearranging the wedding

Financial support if you get made redundant

Compensation if suppliers fail to deliver

However, just as with any other form of insurance, not all policies are created equal so it makes sense to check the fine print!

The BBC recently reported that the Financial Ombudsman Service has warned engaged couples to make sure that they give enough time and thought to their wedding insurance.

Cover for £ 25,000 typically costs around £130, but the financial research company Defaqto says that only 23% of policies will reimburse the full costs if you have to cancel a wedding, and that just 18% will pay out if any of the suppliers fail to deliver!

On a personal note, I’d recommend that couples ensure that their photographer is fully insured, and ask to see copies of their certificates. The ones you need to look for are:

Professional Indemnity Insurance – this protects you in the event that in the unfortunate event that you find yourself in dispute with a photographer. The indemnity cover will pay the cost of his defending any allegations or claims made (such as negligence or breach of duty of care – for example, loss of digital mages from the wedding)

Public Liability Insurance – also known as third party liability and personal liability. This cover protects the photographer against third party claims for injury or damage to people or property – for example, in the event that someone trips over his camera case and injures themselves

I make sure that I have copies of these whenever I see prospective couples, and I always keep a copy of the Public Liability policy with me when attending a wedding, as some venues will ask for a copy on the day!!